OCT. 8 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – A Kazakh court convicted Vladimir Kozlov, a vocal opposition activist, of calling for a revolution and inciting social discord, and jailed him for 7.5 years. The sentence is linked to a deadly riot in Zhanaozen last year. The US government said the authorities were using the criminal justice system to silence its critics.
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(News report from Issue No. 108, published on Oct. 12 2012)
OCT. 12 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Hundreds of people have gathered each day over the past week in Osh, southern Kyrgyzstan, to protest against the detention of nationalist parliamentarians who tried to break into government offices in Bishkek on Oct. 3, media reported. Sustained discontent in the south has the potential to destabilise Kyrgyzstan.
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(News report from Issue No. 108, published on Oct. 12 2012)
OCT. 8 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Bidzina Ivanishvili, head of the Georgian opposition coalition that won a parliamentary election on Oct. 1, put himself forward as the new PM. Also named in his cabinet, which is yet to be formally ratified, were former AC Milan footballer Kakha Kaladze as development minister and Irakly Alasania, a former envoy to the UN, as defence minister.
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(News report from Issue No. 108, published on Oct. 12 2012)
OCT. 5 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili and his opposition coalition, Georgian Dream, pulled off a shock victory in a parliamentary election in Georgia on Oct. 1.
They defeated the victor of the 2003 Rose Revolution — Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and his political party United National Movement party (UNM).
Final results are not yet out, but estimates suggest that Georgian Dream will claim about 83 seats in the 150-seat parliament.
This was both a stunning and surprising victory. Analysts had predicted an easy win for UNM.
Now, though, Mr Ivanishvili has to show that he is not only a wily campaigner but can also govern. And this is where it will get complicated. Other than vague notions of improving ties with Russia while still moving towards the West, Mr Ivanishvili has been light on policy ideas.
A new constitution, due to be adopted next year further complicates matters. Until then, the president is still the most powerful figure in the country and even appoints the prime minister. After the new constitution comes into play, power shifts to the prime minister.
And there is also the small matter of another election, this time a presidential election, scheduled for Oct. 2013. It’s likely to be an unsettling 12 months in Georgia.
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(News report from Issue No. 107, published on Oct. 5 2012)
OCT. 3 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s parliament has thrown out Gular Ahmadova, the MP filmed trying to organise a bribe from a businessman in exchange for a seat in the legislature, media reported. The video, filmed in 2005, has shaken the Azerbaijani political establishment. Ms Ahmadova had been a relatively prominent figure in the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan party.
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(News report from Issue No. 107, published on Oct. 5 2012)
OCT. 1 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan’s new PM, Zhantoro Satibaldiyev, pledged not to nationalise the country’s biggest economic asset — the Kumtor gold mine. Toronto-based Centerra Gold owns Kumtor, which contributes about an eighth of Kyrgyzstan’s national GDP.
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(News report from Issue No. 107, published on Oct. 5 2012)
OCT. 3 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyz police fired tear gas in Bishkek to disperse about 2,000 people who were calling for the overthrow of the government after it pledged not to nationalise the Kumtor gold mine, media reported. About 200 people tried to climb over a fence surrounding the government’s headquarters in the worst violence in Bishkek since a revolution in 2010.
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(News report from Issue No. 107, published on Oct. 5 2012)
SEP. 26 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijani opposition newspaper, Azadliq, published online a video allegedly showing a member of parliament, Gular Ahmadova, discussing the bribe a businessman would have to pay to win a seat in the national legislature. The prosecutor-general has pledged to investigate the allegations.
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(News report from Issue No. 106, published on Sep. 28 2012)
SEP. 21 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev sacked Aslan Musin as his chief of staff. In Mr Musin’s place, Mr Nazarbayev promoted the loyal PM Karim Masimov. No official reason was given for the change but many analysts believe that Mr Musin had become too powerful.
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(News report from Issue No. 106, published on Sep. 28 2012)
SEP. 28 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Street protests, stirred by revelations last week of abuse in Georgia’s prisons, continued to dominate Tbilisi ahead of parliamentary elections on Oct. 1. Media outlets have also reported that the video of the abuses has pushed people towards voting for the opposition party, Georgian Dream.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 106, published on Sep. 28 2012)